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Twin Trunk Bald Cypress

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matievski
eightyninebonsai
fM
Sam Ogranaja
andre10
bumblebee
mike page
EdMerc
bonsaisr
Jay Gaydosh
Jeremy
John Quinn
AlainK
Kev Bailey
Harleyrider
Smithy
Budi Sulistyo
sixhunter
JimLewis
leonardo
Storm
Velodog2
mr treevolution
redvw5
art_rod
kenduncan
30 posters

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Twin Trunk Bald Cypress - Page 2 Empty Re: Twin Trunk Bald Cypress

Post  Kev Bailey Sat Aug 08, 2009 8:03 pm

They do quite well in the UK. I've been working on one for a few years in North Wales and have many more from seed. They like more water than most trees, same as Alder or Wisteria. They come from seed, cuttings, airlayer and ground layer easily. They also fatten rapidly if ground grown.

This one is a really imaginative and beautifully executed use of carving one stump to create a twin trunk. I had to give it a really hard stare, after I knew it was carved, to see what had been done.
Kev Bailey
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Post  Harleyrider Sat Aug 08, 2009 8:41 pm

Thanks for that, Kev. Whilst I prefer native species, I'm beginning to see that as long as a tree can deal with our lovely weather there is no reason not to 'have a go'.
I've added bald cypress to my mental list of possibilities.
Harleyrider
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Post  AlainK Sat Aug 08, 2009 10:20 pm

Harleyrider wrote:
Are these trees suitable for the British climate/weather?

I think so. Where I live ("Continental" France, zone 8 ) there are may of these in parks, some well over 100 years old. I have sevearl tfrom seeds I planted a couple of years ago, they are all safe and sound after winters with several days below 10° Celsius.

But: in their native habitat, the growing season is longer and they probably develop faster, in particular the base will probably fatten up quicker.

Yet they are fast growers in our old Europe as well : they developp twice as fast as Dunkeld larch in my garden...
AlainK
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Post  John Quinn Sat Aug 08, 2009 10:36 pm

This tree looks great in person!
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Post  Harleyrider Sat Aug 08, 2009 10:37 pm

Thanks for that Alain. I think I might just try my luck with a couple of seedlings from Monsieur Kev. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, eh?
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Post  kenduncan Sun Aug 09, 2009 12:42 pm

I want to think everyone for there comments.

Art, the pot is 22" wide and 5.5" deep.

Mr Treevolution, the tree was collected.

Velodog2, I will post some more pics later, I do not have access to them at this time.

Hi Jim, thank You. I do plan to take it to Asheville. Maybe changed only a little.

Storm, Sixhunter, Leonardo, Budi, Smithy and Harleyrider, Thank you all for your replies.

Hi John Q. I have worked on this one a lot since You last saw it.
Ken


Last edited by kenduncan on Sun Aug 09, 2009 12:48 pm; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : Add text)

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Post  kenduncan Tue Aug 18, 2009 10:39 pm

Leonardo,
Thank You for taking the time to do a virtual of my tree. There is a reason that the top of this tree looks the way that it does, it is because most of the Bald Cypress that I see look like this. The so called "flat top style". My intention is to have this tree look as natural as possible. In my opinion If the top was done as most Bonsai it would loose that natural look that I see in the Cypress swamps of South Carolina. Twin Trunk Bald Cypress - Page 2 P1010010
Ken

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Post  kenduncan Tue Aug 18, 2009 10:48 pm

I pruned this tree on Sunday, it had grown a lot while I was away from home for 10 days.
Here is a before and after. Twin Trunk Bald Cypress - Page 2 Bc817010 Twin Trunk Bald Cypress - Page 2 Bcf_8110
Ken

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Twin Trunk Bald Cypress - Page 2 Empty Alligators with that sir?

Post  Jeremy Tue Aug 18, 2009 10:53 pm

Ken,
Thank you for posting.
I.M.H.O. A very convincing, powerful and peaceful image.
Harleyrider wrote:Are these trees suitable for the British climate/weather?
I think you get a few alligators with every tree you keep. Wink
Jeremy
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Post  Jay Gaydosh Tue Aug 18, 2009 11:09 pm

OK, Im slow... you said the two trunks are actually remnants of the original single trunk and that you carved the center out from between the two sections of cambium>

Either way, looks great.

forbey
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Post  kenduncan Wed Aug 19, 2009 12:24 pm

Jeremy, Thank You very much for your kind words.

Jay, Thank You. The trunk was carved in 1998, it was a tree that was collected in 1994 or 1995 and was about 20 to 30 feet tall.The top of the stump was to large to make a convincing transition so I decided to make it a twin trunk style. It took about 4 hours and I used an electric saw, an electric carving tool and an air driven die grinder as well as an electric die grinder and a lot of different bits.
Here are some early pictures.
KenTwin Trunk Bald Cypress - Page 2 Bc98be10Twin Trunk Bald Cypress - Page 2 Bc98be11Twin Trunk Bald Cypress - Page 2 Bc98be12Twin Trunk Bald Cypress - Page 2 Bc98be13

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Twin Trunk Bald Cypress - Page 2 Empty Wow....

Post  Jeremy Wed Aug 19, 2009 2:10 pm

O.K.
So now I am really impressed. Great vision and execution.
My bonsai buddy Chris Thomas has a thing for these. No doubt your carving will give him pause for thought.
Not to mention Bob Hill's itchy carving trigger finger.
Jeremy
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Post  leonardo Wed Aug 19, 2009 2:18 pm

That is a first for me to see. The sky is the limit or maybe we should say the solar system is the limit.

ciao....Leonardo

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Post  Jay Gaydosh Wed Aug 19, 2009 2:43 pm

Thanks for the photos and explanation. The end result is amazing.

Jay
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Post  bonsaisr Wed Aug 19, 2009 4:13 pm

Harleyrider wrote:
Are these trees suitable for the British climate/weather?
People think of bald cypress, Taxodium distichum, as a tropical in Florida, which is actually the southern end of its range. It is native up to southern Virginia and the southern tip of Indiana. It can be cultivated in Zone 6. It does not have to grow in standing water. I have seen it in the middle of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. I should think it would do fine in Britain.
Sorry, I didn't see page 2.
Iris


Last edited by bonsaisr on Wed Aug 19, 2009 4:17 pm; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : May be superfluous)
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Post  Velodog2 Wed Aug 19, 2009 7:07 pm

And I was quite surprised to find one growing wild in central Maryland a number of years back, complete with knees!

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Post  AlainK Thu Aug 20, 2009 11:17 am

kenduncan wrote:
(...) The trunk was carved in 1998,(...)

Wow! A very daring solution, and a very impressive result.

This post should be kept as a reference on this technique.
AlainK
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Post  kenduncan Thu Aug 20, 2009 12:39 pm

Jeremy, Leonardo, Jay and AlainK, I want to thank You guys for your comments and praise, but I can not take credit for the idea of splitting the trunk of this tree. I first got the inspiration to do this from an early issue of Bonsai Today in which Mr Kimura took a Japanese White Pine that was large with no taper and split the trunk into 5 sections all the way down to the root base to form an impressive clump style Bonsai, I was amazed and wanted to try this technique. I have seen Bald Cypress trees recover from all kinds of damage from Mother Nature, as well as the hand of man, and thrive, so I was fairly sure that it would do okay. I am not to sure how Mr Kimura's White Pine did after the operation it received, I have not seen any pictures of it since and I would love to know if it is still alive.
Ken

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Post  JimLewis Thu Aug 20, 2009 2:36 pm

It's far from the class of Ken's bald cypress, but I split the trunk of this little (11 inches) pear tree about 13 years ago and it's still kicking. This pic is from last March.

Twin Trunk Bald Cypress - Page 2 Pyrus_10
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Post  AlainK Fri Aug 21, 2009 9:19 am

kenduncan wrote: (...) I can not take credit for the idea of splitting the trunk of this tree. I first got the inspiration to do this from an early issue of Bonsai Today in which Mr Kimura took a Japanese White Pine that was large with no taper and split the trunk into 5 sections all the way down to the root base to form an impressive clump style Bonsai, I was amazed and wanted to try this technique. I have seen Bald Cypress trees recover from all kinds of damage from Mother Nature, as well as the hand of man, and thrive, so I was fairly sure that it would do okay. I am not to sure how Mr Kimura's White Pine did after the operation it received, I have not seen any pictures of it since and I would love to know if it is still alive.
Ken

When I saw what you did, I also thought instantly of this article. The question is not who "invented" this method, the fact is that the way you used it is exemplary: good solution for a tree, very nice result, and what's more, the tree doesn't look like one that underwent "extreme surgery". Because yes, your last question ("I would love to know if it is still alive") is the question that always come in the end when someone mentions this article.

This technique can also be adapted for other trees (thanks for the very nice example Jim), including deciduous, especially when the circulation of the sap goes in several directions, but with junipers in which the "live veins" mustn't be cut, it must be much trickier.
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Post  kenduncan Fri Aug 21, 2009 11:46 am

Jim, Thanks for your kind comments.
Nice Pear tree. I like the fact that the leaves have reduced so well, I bet it has good fall color in your climate.
Does it bloom for You?
Ken

AlainK,
Thank You for your kind words.
I am glad to here that someone else knows of this article. I need to look it up and see if I still feel the same way about that Pine
tree.
Ken

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Post  EdMerc Fri Aug 21, 2009 2:25 pm

Ken,
First off, absolutely fantastic tree. I love the work you have done thus far. I knew right away that you where going with the natural growth patterns of the bald cypress with it's flat tops. My only recomendation would be the thinning if not flat out removal of lower growth. This is more in line with the mature bald cypress look and I think will reflect better on your overall image of age.

Question, in your pictures of the carving work you did (impressive) it looks like you "folded" the top of the smaller part and held it together with wire. Is this right?

Great tree,
Ed
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Post  JimLewis Fri Aug 21, 2009 4:56 pm

Nice Pear tree. I like the fact that the leaves have reduced so well, I bet it has good fall color in your climate.
Does it bloom for You?

Thanks right back at you.

It has never bloomed in 15 years. It was a seedling from dropped fruit under a row of 40-foot pear trees that were growing along my drive in Tallahassee, FL. Those trees, in turn were the result of tossing out the scraps from a batch of pear jelly my wife made some 35 years ago. I transplanted five seedlings to my drive. The driveway trees were a sight to see in spring and fall.

This one has to bask in its fall glory unless it surprises me some spring. I probably do too much pruning, since they bloom on last year's growth (and older).
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Post  Velodog2 Fri Aug 21, 2009 6:07 pm

I actually didn't think of the Kimura article right away when i realized what had been done with this cypress. While it is generally the same technique involving making multiple trunks from one by cutting, it seems significantly different due to the amount of wood removed, and that the wood removal was the primary means of getting the two trunks. If I remember the Kimura article correctly, his tree was of much smaller diameter to begin with, so while there was wood removed, the primary means of separating the trunks was splitting with a saw and bending with wire. Similar amount of stress to the tree tho.

Jim I love this pear! I even like the pot! I think I like it best of all the trees you have posted. And it's provenance is charming as well!

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Post  AlainK Sat Aug 22, 2009 10:25 am

JimLewis wrote:
It has never bloomed in 15 years.

Yes, very nice story indeed Wink It deserves to be in the "Book of Bonsai Anecdotes", along with the story of the moss-gathering people in Toronto - or is it Vancouver? (can't remember who posted that one at the moment).

Back to the pear-trees: it it's from pears that came from a grafted tree, maybe it has reverted to a species genetically closer to the wild pear. In that case, it will take much longer to flower.
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